Costa Rica: Strengthening Anticorruption Mechanisms


In August 2018, NCSC facilitated a study tour to Chile for members of the Costa Rican judiciary, as part of the Costa Rica Anti-Corruption Program.  The study tour provided delegates with an opportunity to observe international best practices in detecting and countering judicial corruption and fraud, to develop an understanding of crisis management, and to foster future regional cooperation in this area.

NCSC Staff Attorney, Valeria Jiménez Badilla, noted that “the Costa Rica Judicial Branch’s delegation succeeded in validating the fraud methodology blueprint created for the Department of Auditing, with the different institutions that they visited, among them, the Council of the General Internal Auditor of the Government. Additionally, materials were gathered for the creation of a Code of Ethics.”

The Costa Rica Anti-Corruption Program is intended to assist the Judiciary in developing and implementing an anti-corruption framework that addresses anti-corruption gaps and vulnerabilities, by creating training resources on anti-corruption countermeasures and preventative strategies, and by developing a revised institutional Code of Ethics. The Program is part of a broader assistance strategy by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to support Costa Rican authorities and organizations in the fight against narcotrafficking and organized crime organizations.

The Costa Rica Anti-Corruption Program is implemented by NCSC and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.